Sofia.

On July 19th, at 11:06 pm, my sweet niece Sofia was born. Her Mommy Carissa was such a champ, as Sofia weighed in at 9 pounds 6 ounces, 2 weeks early! Sofia is beyond beautiful and I love her so much. If a niece can fill my heart with such joy, I cannot imagine what being a Mommy will be like. The day was made even more special because it would have been my beloved Grandpa Poppi's 98th birthday. Welcome, little Sofia...

26 weeks.

How far along? 26 Weeks

Total weight gain: 11 lbs gained
Maternity clothes? sundresses and using the belly band still.... although maternity clothes are more comfortable, they are just NOT as cute!
Stretch marks? not yet
Sleep: sleeping great, it is getting harder and harder to roll over and reposition myself in the middle of the night
Best moment this week: making progress on the nursery (bassinet came!), and have my belly make weird shapes when the baby's head protrudes out, making a very hard bulge.
Miss Anything? drooling over the seasonal beers at dinner the other night, and Ahi tuna on salads... YUMMMMMM
Movement: all the time, we are so entertained feeling baby move around, mostly in the morning and at night when I am in bed.
Food cravings: Candy: Sugar Babies and Kit Kats. That is all. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Seafood- although I did manage a lobster roll last night at dinner. Don't know what got into me. 
Gender: SURPRISE!!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Back pain is getting pretty bad, which I am assuming will only get worse. My round ligament pain is bad after working out... but that ain't gonna stop me! I have maternity photos to prepare for!
Belly Button in or out? flat as a pancake
Wedding rings on or off? On, but I have a backup for the day when the rings don't fit over these sausages. If my toes are any indication, these fingers will be ready for a size up soon. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY! Sometimes I feel like I might burst with happiness...sounds cheesy... but so true.
Looking forward to: Baby Dr. visit tomorrow, and ordering our crib, changing table and registering this weekend. We are also visiting the daycare later this week that our babe will most likely go to after I go back to work! 

love is.

- When he saves me the last protein bar that I like, and has to open a new box to get a different one.
- Offering to head to the microwave over and over to re-heat my heating pad because he can see I am walking funny.
- Coming home after a ten hour work day to finish painting the nursery because it gives me anxiety when things are unfinished.
- Allowing me to use his arms as a brace to help me roll over in bed.
- Talking and reading to my stomach and being so excited to meet our little babe.
- Tells me over and over how pretty and what a cute pregnant lady I am, even if I know it is baloney.
- Even though he complains, allowing me to watch my endless shows of reality tv night after night.
- Doing the dishes infinitely more times than I do.
- Researching babymoons, taking Daddy Bootcamp with our friend Marcel, and {sort of} agreeing the push gift I want is something I can have.
- Playing with my hair until I fall asleep at night, even if laying on him is causing my body weight to cut off the circulation to his leg.
-Refinishing his old dresser that he loves, because I just will not have that old sticker covered thing in my baby's nursery.
-  Taking endless photos of my belly because I just don't think the last one was quite right...


Point is - this guy is rockin the husband socks right now.
Rock on lover.

25 weeks.

How far along? 25 Weeks
Total weight gain: 10 lbs gained
Maternity clothes? still wearing most of my old clothes - using the belly band to hold my jeans closed.
Stretch marks? not yet
Sleep: still sleeping great
Best moment this week: Finishing the paint in the nursery, and buying our bassinet! I am getting more and more excited to buy things for the little one, and much less overwhelmed! 
Miss Anything? A glass of wine or a cocktail with dinner on the weekends, but no big... I guess I'll learn to love water. :)
Movement: All the time, it's fun to see baby moving from the outside, or when it kicks and my stomach juts out really fast!
Food cravings: Still sweets & fruit - candy and bananas, peaches, melon, oranges.... but mostly candy.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still not eager to eat seafood any time soon.
Gender: Surprise!!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Round ligament pain and lower back pain is pretty constant, but the back pain gets really bad if I clean all day. I have had a couple bouts with acid reflux, but a TUM stops that in it's tracks. 
Belly Button in or out? flat as a pancake
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY! I am just so excited and loving feeling good right now. I am nervous for the 3rd trimester!
Looking forward to: We find out the gender of our wonderful friends Ann and Marcel's little baby, and my brother's girlfriend is getting induced tomorrow! It would have been Poppy (my sweet grandpa's) 98th birthday tomorrow, too. It will be a very special day we will remember forever!

best moment of the week.

My sweet husband and I cuddled up on the couch, while he read his favorite book when he was a child to the baby.... and the baby kicking like crazy.

We are so excited for this little one's arrival, we can barely stand it.

24 weeks.

How far along? 24 Weeks
Total weight gain: 10 pounds.... slow and steady = NO stretch marks! YES!
Maternity clothes? Yup! They are sooo comfortable, but I can still fit in to most of my old stuff, if it's stretchy.
Stretch marks? Not yet, but I have a baaaaaad feeling that strange brown line is about to make it's debut below my belly button. I see it there, faintly.... I call it bad words.
Sleep: still sleeping great, once I can get comfortable, which is not always easy.
Best moment this week:  Finding gorgeous bedding for the baby's room at a reasonable price!!! And watching my tshirt move when the baby kicks- they are getting stronger!
Miss Anything? the clear winner... cocktails! Sometimes you just want a drink on a hot day, or after a rough one.
Movement: more & more each day!
Food cravings: still sweets & fruit - should probably work on fulfilling my fruit craving more than my sweets craving if I don't want to gain 50 lbs.
Anything making you queasy or sick: apparently eating an entire box of movie-sized Sugar Babies while stuck in traffic wasn't the best idea...but otherwise, no.
Gender: Surprise!!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Round ligament pain every time I stand up or move quickly {ouch},  but the lower back pain is the worst~ I walk so funny sometimes.
Belly Button in or out? In-ish
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY
Looking forward to: Finishing the stripes in the nursery so we can put it all together!! AND my litlle brother's baby will be born ANY day now!!! HOORAY!

awesomeness.

- all of the fruits and veggies from our 'bountiful basket': mangoes, peppers, zucchini, cantaloupe, herbs, oh my! Everything is so fresh and yummy.... and enough for more than 4 people.

-being stuck in the restaurant where we were eating lunch yesterday due to a crazy downpour. Electing to drink a cup a coffee {decaf for me}, eat warm chocolate chip cookies brought to us by the waitress, and snuggle up in the booth watching the rain fall through the window. 

-thinking we were missing the fireworks, but perfectly happy snuggling up in yet again another booth sharing a delectable chicken pot pie and Nutella ice cream last night, only to catch the whole show on our way home.

-checking everything off of our very long 'to do' around the house list.... sweet relief. 

-an impromptu shopping spree because we wanted to just 'walk around' the mall.... yeah, that never works.

-two weeks off of work to cook, clean, and actually become presentable for my husband when he comes home from work. 

-Tucson monsoons giving us 70* temperatures in the morning and evening, making car shopping almost pleasant. Almost.

-Our little baby developing and moving all around all the time. This is the good stuff.

23 weeks.

How far along? 23 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 9 lbs. gained
Maternity clothes? Wearing a maternity top and maternity jeans in this pic.... so much more comfortable! I do not know what I was waiting for! Oh, yeah, too cheap to buy any :)
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping great... my Boppy body pillow is a Godsend!
Best moment this week:  After my sweet husband did loads of research on the best cars for our family, we both got new cars this week. I got a 2012 VW Passat (36 mpg, hollllaaaa!!!) and Rick got a 2012 Dodge RAM 1500 Hemi (no more getting boosts into his lifted TITAN, yipppeeee!!). The best part is that after all the hard work and research, many test drives, and different financing options we explored, we really feel like we got the best deal for our money and for our family. No buyers' remorse here, now we can just relax, we are ready to drive our little baby around. We also got to see some good pics of our babe at the big sonogram last week, and Rick and I stare constantly at the pics on the fridge. We may be impartial, but that baby sure is cute. The best part: he/she is perfectly healthy; we are so, so grateful and happy. Oh! I got a free maternity photo session AND I found out the Pied Piper has also agreed to fit me in for a maternity session when she is in town in October. I mean, could it GET any better????
Miss Anything? Shopping for adorable little shorts and tops for summer! Booooo.... but I did get a bunch of stuff at GAP yesterday that helped ease my sorrows. 
Movement: All the time. I love laying in bed in the morning & feeling her/him move all over when I wake up...it is so surreal. 
Food cravings: Hmmmm.... nothing new. My diet is pretty much the same as before I got pregnant (which is not always the best thing), but I make a conscious effort to add fruit and veggies!
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Gender: SURPRISE!!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Round ligament pain: it is no joke, man.
Belly Button in or out? In, flatter every day.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY
Looking forward to: More work on the nursery, and my fellow prego bestie Ann is coming down tomorrow to hang with me alllll weekend. I am going to rub her belly so much....